Tim Farron tonight claimed Brexit is a 'time bomb' under the British economy as he launched the Lib Dem's Remoaner manifesto at a bizarre disco.

The Liberal Democrat leader set out his vision for Britain and is offering tax hikes, legalised cannabis and soft punishment for criminals alongside his battle to reverse Brexit.

He insisted British voters and not just an elite group of politicians should have a say about what is an acceptable Brexit deal as he demanded a second referendum.

Mr Farron held a party in Hackney, East London, to launch his manifesto and promoted his plans standing on top of a giant EU flag.

His speech was warmed up by an eclectic pop mix, including Britain's 2017 Eurovision effort 'Never Give Up On You' by Lucie Jones.

But the Lib Dem leader's effort was knocked off course tonight by another row over his religious views after an old interview emerged revealing opposition to abortion.

Tim Farron tonight claimed Brexit is a 'time bomb' under the British economy as he launched the Lib Dem's Remoaner manifesto at a bizarre disco (pictured)

The furious Liberal Democrat leader slammed Labour for losing its purpose but told the party faithful in Hackney 'we have found ours'

Mr Farron held a party in Hackney, East London, to launch his manifesto and promoted his plans standing on top of a giant EU flag

The Liberal Democrat leader said he is 'pro-choice now and I was pro-choice then' when asked about an interview with a Salvation Army publication in 2007 in which he reportedly condemned the method of terminating a pregnancy.

In his launch speech, the Remoaner in Chief took aim at Theresa May's decision to pull Britain out of the EU single market as part of Brexit.

Staying in would leave Britain still subject to the free movement of EU citizens, rulings on the European court and banned from making trade deals - a situation Mrs May has said is tantamount to staying in the EU.

Mr Farron said Nigel Farage was hailing Theresa May for adopting the language and phrases he had been criticised for over 20 years

Former leader Nick Clegg was in attendance at the Liberal Democrat's unconventional manifesto launch in Hackney tonight

The event in a Hackney night club is bets all of the Liberal Democrat cards on opposing Brexit at the general election on June 8

Our vote will go up by how much? Mr Clegg was in attendance at tonight's party as he waited for Lib Dem leader Tim Farron

The former Ukip leader's world-view is 'the same one that leads to Donald Trump banning Muslims and building a wall, the same one that Marine Le Pen tried to impose on the decent people of France', said Mr Farron.

VOTE LIB DEM FOR HIGHER TAXES

The Liberal Democrats would put a penny on all bands of income tax and increase corporation tax to 20 per cent as part of a £13.4billion bombsell.

The party claims the revenue-raising package would increase funding for public services and welfare.

Under the Lib Dem plans, the basic rate of income tax would rise to 21 per cent, higher rate to 41 per cent and the top rate for earnings over £150,000 to 46 per cent to raise £6.3 billion for health and social care by 2019/20.

Scrapping Conservative plans to reduce corporation tax to 17 per cent and instead nudging it up a point from its current 19 per cent would raise a further £3.6 billion.

Budgets for education and early years would be boosted by £5.75 billion a year in 2019/20. Reintroducing maintenance grants and nursing bursaries would cost almost £3 billion, while a range of enhancements to benefits would total around £8.4 billion.

He added: 'Nigel Farage's vision for Britain is now Theresa May's. He has taken over the Conservative Party. Anti-Europe. Anti-refugees. Slashing funding to schools and hospitals.

'No wonder Ukip is standing down candidates and backing the Tories. After all, who needs Ukip if the Government is doing what they want anyway?'

Labour has 'lost the right to call themselves the opposition' by failing to make a stand on Brexit, Mr Farron said.

He condemned Labour under Mr Corbyn for having 'lost its purpose' and urged his activists to look to the example of France where the establishment parties finished third and fifth in the presidential election.

Mr Farron said: 'Labour has lost its purpose but we have found ours.'

And in an appeal to voters to support the Lib Dems, he said: 'Theresa May and Nigel Farage's cold, mean-spirited Britain is not the Britain I love.

'The Britain I love is generous and compassionate. The Britain I love is one where we are decent to each other.

'The Britain I love is open, tolerant and united.

'If that is the Britain you love too, then this is the moment to stand up. This is your chance to change Britain's future.'

The anti-Brexit platform delights activists but it is not clear yet how the manifesto will go down with the voters on June 8

Lib Dem leader Mr Farron looked tense tonight as he was prepared for his big moment launching the party's manifesto

'From increasing taxes to borrowing more - from putting our security at risk to scrapping Trident - these policies are an echo of Corbyn's manifesto we saw earlier this week.'

Paul Johnson, director of economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said the Lib Dem tax proposals were 'much more modest' than those unveiled by Labour on Tuesday, and would involve Mr Farron's party 'increasing spending more than they're going to increase taxes'.

In its manifesto, the Liberal Democrats are doubling down on the party's hardline stance against leaving the EU despite a stuttering start to the election campaign.

The policy platform also includes a £6billion rise in income tax to fund the NHS, legalising cannabis, decriminalising the sex industry, and scrapping short prison sentences.

Mr Farron will formally launch the document at an event in central London tonight.

Mr Farron, pictured giving an interview in west London earlier today, is formally launching the Lib Dem manifesto

It includes demands for a fresh Brexit referendum on the final deal agreed with the EU - potentially weakening the government's negotiating hand.

LIB DEMS PITCH TO BRITAIN WITH SOCIAL POLICIES

Legalising cannabis and scrapping prison sentences for personal use of drugs are among a range of pledges in the Liberal Democrat manifesto.

The party says plans to create a legal market for the production and sale of the class B drug would generate £1 billion in revenue and would 'break the grip of the criminal gangs and protect young people'.

Key pledges also include plans to decriminalise prostitution, which would allow police to dedicate more time to curbing people trafficking and grooming.

The wide-ranging document offers a number of promises to end discrimination, stating: 'The rise in hate crime, the abuse of refugees, and the toxic rhetoric on immigration and about immigrants themselves is not the future Liberal Democrats want for Britain.

'We will not let campaigners for a hard Brexit pretend that racism and discrimination are a kind of patriotism.'

Vowing to retain the Human Rights Act and strengthen punishments for hate crime, the party also promised to allow 50,000 more Syrian refugees into Britain and to reopen the Dubs scheme for unaccompanied child refugees.

The manifesto says while Jeremy Corbyn had ordered his MPs to 'stand down' from opposing the decision to leave the EU the Lib Dems were 'fighting every step of the way'.

The Lib Dems are also proposing £100billion of infrastructure investment to modernise the country and boost 'fairness'.

A penny would be added to the basic and higher rates of income tax to raise £6billion a year. The revenue would be 'ringfenced to be spent only on NHS and social care services'.

Cannabis would be legalised and taxed to bring in £1billion a year for the Exchequer.

The platform says that would 'break the grip of the criminal gangs and protect young people by introducing a legal, regulated market for cannabis'.

'We would introduce limits on potency and permit cannabis to be sold through licensed outlets to adults over the age of 18,' it added.

The 'sale and purchase of sex, and the management of sex work' would be decriminalised.

Among other law and order policies, there would be a 'presumption against short prison sentences' - raising the prospect of relatively serious offenders escaping prison.

Instead there would be more 'tough, non-custodial punishments including weekend and evening custody, curfews, community service and GPS tagging'.

Mr Farron, pictured chatting to pupils at Holland Park School, is trying to get the Lib Dem campaign back on track after a stuttering start

A Populus poll for MailOnline today showed that Tim Farron is not kindly viewed by the public